BBC News Briefing

24 October, 2024

Jules Darmanin

Hello. Today we're looking at US Democratic candidate Kamala Harris's change of tone over the campaign, moving from upbeat messaging to more pointed attacks towards her Republican rival Donald Trump. And in Jerusalem, Fergal Keane is hearing from a former Israeli security adviser who says his country's forces might be committing war crimes in Gaza. We're also reporting on vaping, vaccines and Irish music.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

From 'joy' to calling Trump 'fascist'

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Kamala Harris speaking in a microphone during a CNN Town Hall.

Kamala Harris called Donald Trump "increasingly unhinged and unstable". Credit: Reuters

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Kamala Harris started her presidential campaign in July with rather optimistic messaging, steering away from her predecessor Joe Biden's starker warnings about Republican rival Donald Trump. But with polls suggesting the race is extremely tight, the Democratic candidate has largely stepped back into casting Trump as an existential threat to American democracy, writes North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher. During a CNN Town Hall on Wednesday, Harris was asked point-blank if she believed Trump was a "fascist". "Yes, I do," she replied. Analysts say she is hoping to bank on reticence against Trump among independent and moderate Republican voters. "If anti-Trump sentiment puts Harris over the top on election day, her latest strategic emphasis will have paid off. If not, the second-guessing will come fast and furious," writes Anthony. Trump, meanwhile, has carried on with his attacks on his Democratic counterpart. He said on Wednesday Harris was “lazy” and “stupid” and only became her party nominee because of her ethnicity and gender.

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What's happening today: For the first time this campaign, President Barack Obama will appear alongside Kamala Harris during a rally in Georgia. Donald Trump will attend rallies in Arizona and Las Vegas. Follow our live page for more.

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Elon Musk: A letter sent to the tech billionaire's political action committee from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) warned that his lottery-style giveaway of $1m per day to a registered voter may be illegal, according to US media.
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To the wire: Polls in swing states suggest the race is virtually tied.

WORLD HEADLINES

Commonwealth summit: Heads of government of former British colonies and territories are drafting up plans to examine reparatory justice from the UK over the transatlantic slave trade, the BBC has learned.

Kurdistan: Turkey says it has struck sites in Iraq and Syria linked to the PKK, a Kurdish militant group, after blaming it for an attack near Ankara that killed at least five people.

Vaping news: The sale of disposable vapes will be banned in England and Wales from June next year. And in the US, customers have been surprised by payments averaging $240 (£185) from vaping firm Juul Labs as a result of a court settlement.

Cyclone Dana: India is evacuating more than a million people from the path of an approaching storm in the eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal.

Stunt legend dies: US actor Ron Ely, best known for playing the role of Tarzan in the 1960s television show of the same name, has died aged 86.

AT THE SCENE

Jerusalem, Israel

IDF could be committing war crimes in northern Gaza, former adviser says

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A man gives an interview on his sunny balcony. He wears glasses, a black polo shirt and a yellow ribbon badge.

“There is a very dangerous erosion of norms," said Mr Etzion. Credit: BBC

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Eran Etzion, a former deputy head of Israel's National Security Council, is warning that the country's forces might be committing war crimes in northern Gaza. , Israeli Defense Forces referred the BBC to an earlier statement which said they "continue to act, as it always has done, according to international law".

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Fergal Keane, Special correspondent

Mr Etzion, a former soldier himself, is suggesting that officers and troops should reject illegal orders. "They should refuse. If a soldier or an officer is expected to commit something that might be suspected as a war crime, they must refuse. That's what I would do if I were a soldier. That's what I think any Israeli soldier should do,” he tells me.

He is speaking out as a former soldier, as someone whose children served in the IDF, and whose family and friends still serve. “I want to make sure that no soldier is involved in anything that could be constituted as a war crime,” he says.

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Watch the interview

In Lebanon: At least 19 people, including six women and five children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, a local official has said. The Israeli military has not yet commented on the incident.
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES

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Have people harmed by Covid vaccines been let down?

A montage showing a man sitting in an adaptive chair with a head rest, next to a woman standing in a park.

Peter Schulze (left) is now unable to stand or walk, and has difficulty reading. Jane Wrigley (right) can barely walk. Credit: BBC

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The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is credited with saving 6.3 million lives globally in the first year of its use during the Covid-19 pandemic. But in extremely rare cases, side effects have left people injured and families bereaved. In the UK, some of them say they are not getting the support they deserve they deserve, writes medical editor Fergus Walsh.

Read the story

A group of people play music in an Irish bar. One man plays the banjo, while others play the accordion and the fiddle.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Galway the right way

Galway native and banjo virtuoso Enda Scahill shares his tips to make the most of the country's trad music.

Read now

And finally...

A dairy cow has given birth to extremely rare quadruplet calves, a feat which has been described as "unheard of" by farm staff. The bull and three heifers arrived fit and healthy at Calcourt Farms in Wales. The chance of a quadruplet pregnancy in cattle is said to be one in 700,000, with the chance of them all being born alive just one in 11 million.

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– Jules

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